Land used for purposes other than intended or encroached upon will be reclaimed.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment proposes adding and specifying more clearly certain cases of land reclamation due to violations of land laws, including: reclaiming land that has been allocated or leased in a manner inconsistent with land use planning and plans.

Land allocated or leased by the State for investment projects aimed at non- agricultural production and business purposes, but not put into use according to the schedule specified in the investment project, without paying additional tax for projects that fail to put the land into use, are behind schedule in land use, and have been penalized according to the law on tax management.

Land use for purposes other than those intended, or land encroachment, will result in land reclamation (Figure 1). — Illustrative image.

In the draft, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment proposes nine cases of land reclamation due to violations of land laws, including:

Firstly, using land for purposes other than those for which it was allocated, leased, or for which land use rights were recognized by the State, and having already been penalized for administrative violations related to the misuse of land, yet continuing to violate the regulations;

Secondly, the land user intentionally destroys the land and has been penalized for administrative violations related to land destruction, yet continues to violate the law;

Thirdly, land is allocated or leased to the wrong recipients, without proper authority, or in a manner inconsistent with the land use plan and scheme that was announced and made public at the time of allocation or lease;

Fourth, land acquired through transfer or donation from persons to whom the State has allocated or leased land, where the person to whom the land was allocated or leased is not permitted to transfer or donate it according to the provisions of this Law;

Fifth, land that the State has allocated for management is being encroached upon or illegally occupied;

Sixth, land whose land use rights cannot be transferred according to the provisions of this Law, but the land user, due to negligence, allows it to be encroached upon or occupied;

Seventh, the land user failed to fulfill their obligations to the State and was fined for administrative violations but did not comply;

Eighth, agricultural land that has not been used for a continuous period of 36 months and has been subject to administrative penalties but has not been put into use;

Finally, if land allocated or leased by the State for investment projects is not put into use, or if land use is delayed according to the schedule specified in the investment project, the investor must pay the State an amount equivalent to the land use fee or land lease fee for the period of delay in implementing the investment project, plus additional taxes as stipulated in point d, clause 1, Article 147 of this Law.

The payment of land use fees, land rent for the period of delayed implementation of the investment project, and additional taxes as stipulated in this clause must be completed no later than December 31st of the year in which the violation is discovered. If the land user fails to pay by this deadline, the State will reclaim the land.

If the project is delayed by more than 48 months compared to the schedule stated in the investment project and the investor has not completed the project and put the land into use, the State will reclaim the land without compensation for the land and assets attached to the land, except in cases of force majeure.

The draft clearly states that land reclamation due to violations of land law must be based on documents and decisions of competent state agencies identifying the violations of land law.

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